AP Twitter handle hacked

How much of an impact does social media have on life these days? Consider this within minutes of a bogus Tweet by someone who hacked the Associated Press Twitter account saying the White House had been bombed and Pres. Obama had been hurt, the stock market plunged 130 points.

It was mostly computer-triggered trading, but nonetheless, tons of dough was lost, if only briefly. The market quickly rebounded when it was just as quickly revealed that the A/P had been hacked and the Tweet wasn't true.

But it shows to go ya, as my dad would say, social media can be powerful. The other lesson: Be careful with your own accounts, and do what the folks at our parent company insist we do ? change our passwords frequently and don't make them obvious. (They are so not obvious, I have to look them up when I log in!)

I'm just sayin'.

Thanks to all who responded to my posts about Richie Havens, who died yesterday at age 72. In my interview with him from 2007, as he was about to turn 67, I asked him how much longer he would be performing. Forever, he said, adding that he'd like to continue working till he's 160.

Unfortunately he didn't make it. Last year Richie said he was retiring from touring because kidney surgery had slowed him down. About 10 days ago someone told me he wasn't doing well, and then yesterday we heard that he had died of a heart attack. He was a giant of a man ? in person and because of the legacy he leaves. His ad libbed song, "Freedom" became the anthem for Woodstock. He was offered a ton of money to commercial it. Not ever going to happen, he told me. That song belongs to the people who were at Woodstock, not to some ad campaign.

He kept his integrity till the end. We will remember Richie Havens, and all that he brought us.

We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Meteorologist Lee Goldberg's AccuWeather forecast, and Rob Powers with the night's sports. I hope you can join Sade Baderinwa and me, tonight at 11.